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The Hospital
The Holy Independent Faraway Concealed Dominion of The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in The New World, more commonly called The Hospital, is a non-native constitutional theocratic diarchy located at the north of the middle continent of Phaedros near the Safanium Desert and the Gray Mountains and bordered by the Boreal Ocean at the north of its territories. It is not bordered by any unified nation but borders the territory of the Shkeir Trading Nomads to the West and the Corsairs of Ingut to the North-West. The Hospital covers almost 2000 square kilometers and has a population of around 954 thousand. The Hospital is comprised of multiple cities and citadel fiefs with a certain autonomy but answering completely to one central government situated on the island of San Giuda Taddeo, or simply Taddeo Island. The islands comprising the most important parts of The Hospital where never reached by the natives of Phaedros, but were finally inhabited by a group of lost Hospitaller Knight, scattered away from their group after the siege of Rhodes. It is largely accepted that it was a mythical being, The Knight of The Draconic Cross that had transported this original group to Phaedros, his motives remaining unknown. These knights went through an Odyssey of their own for 13 years that has been remembered deeply in Hospitalier history. Starving and going insane from the years passed with little food on the ships and all the men that had died after their last stop on the Odyssey where they had to fight cyclops, they could only remember that after praying to god for a miracle so they could live, a portal opened up and here they were, on the New World of Phaedros. Once arrived, two groups formed, the ones that where going to leave the ways of the knights for a more secular life that they believe had been offered by God, and the very few that decided not to leave the way, consisting of about 10 people, child and women included. The first group would scater and for farming villages to later become the general populace of The Hospital, and the latter will see themselves become part of the hospitalier clergy and nobility. Only a few years after the separation of the groups, a big movement for unification surged through these new lands. They formed in this way the constitutional theocratic diarchy of The Hospital, with a democratically elected Prince Mayor and a Grand Master, elected by the nobility from the nobility, acting as the heads of The Hospital. The Hospital has a reputation for a very virulent indirect trading operation that mostly passes through The Shkeir Trading Nomads. Other than their relationship with the shkeir, The Hospital has kept a neutrality in most of what they call "the petty squabbles of the local infidels". Even if they have kept this neutrality, the have also kept the "crusader mindset" of spreading as best they can their religion and, because of that, tolerate everyone as long as they practice a form of christianity they recognise. Most trade passes through the Grand City of Saint-Thomas which became the economical engine of the nation. Etymology The flag of The Hospital is the one used by the Knights Hospitaller before their arrival in Phaedros. It bears the white eight-pointed cross (cross of Malta) on a red field, representing the humanitarian and medical mission of the order, its origin in the face of the saracens during the Crusades, and its new goal of christianising Phaedros. The geometric shape of an eight-pointed cross is found in antiquity, and especially as decorative element in Byzantine culture from about the 6th century. The Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades used a plain Latin cross. The association of the "Maltese Cross" with the order dates to the late-15th century, it is possibly first mentioned in 1489 in a regulation requiring the knights of Malta to wear "the white cross with eight points". History The Hospital was created by Hospitaller knights that had lost their way while escaping Rhodes after it got taken over by the Ottomans. They faced a 13 years long odyssey before being transported through a portal after having prayed for a safe place where they could live, Theyr whole adventure is said to have been caused by the mysterious knight of the draconic cross for unknown motives. They arrived near the uninhabited Archipelago of Sant'Antonio di Padova (simple: Padova Archipelago) and landed on San Giuda Taddeo Island, named after the patron saint of desperate situations who was prayed to 10 times daily on the 13 years voyage the ship made to the islands. The knights having landed divided in two groups, the ones that were going to leave the ways of the knights for a more secular life that they believe had been offered by God and the very few that decided not to leave the way, consisting of about 10 people, child and women included.The more numerous group discarded the lifestyle of the warrior monks and adopted a secular life, leaving the island for the other smaller island of the archipelago and forming small villages in the style of the european countryside led by an elected mayor. The other group, formed of the most pious, most loyal and most powerful knights kept their clerical life and took it upon themselves to build fortresses/monasteries and boats in a bid to contact the European homeland. This second group was led by François Villiers, son of Philippe Villiers, the Grand Master of the Hospitallers in Europe. There, started a trend of primogeniture in the leadership of the group since, having been disconnected from the Pope, the Grand Master could not be appointed by His Holiness. A few years later, the Knights on Taddeo island, under Grand Master Auger Berengar, had decided to stop trying to contact Europe and to try to build a nation from what they had on the now extremely fortified island. The efforts to unite all the Hospitaller states was growing strong and in the glorious year of 1652, all of the different states, villages, and nations in the Archipelago united under a new gouvernement similar to a constitutional monarchy, still in place today. The "new" Hospital finally relaxed its isolationist pose and sent diplomats to different bordering nations and setting up embassies in all major nations in what they now knew as Phaedros. Military View dedicated page The military of The Hospital is highly influenced by the original Hospitalier order. It constitutes of a small but powerful well trained army that, accompanied by its allies, can cause massive damage to any enemy. Religion is crucial for the army but race, ethnicity, culture, and even citizenship manner little. The Hospital also has the chance of having very advanced navy, for which they were reputed in Europe, even if it has seen less and less quality as its usefulness comes in doubt in The New World. Government The government consists of a diarchy between an elected prince-mayor chosen from and by the whole population and electe for 10 year long terms and one grandmaster elected from and by the nobility that has his role for life. The nobility constitutes of the descendants of and current important individuals like war heroes, rich merchants, benevolent individuals, and others. The status of noble can only be lost by order of one of the two mandated leaders. Both rulers have the same amount of power in all jurisdictions, but they each have a certain mandate making them concentrate on certain matters more than others. The prince-mayor will mostly address economy, trade, law, and local governance while the grandmaster will be mostly addressing military and diplomatic issues. Multiple issues have been written down as requiring the consensus between both the prince and the grand master and have mostly to do with declaring war, conscription, certain facets of the economy, etc. Culture The Hospitalier culture is considered distinct from european and from phaedros culture as it has taken aspects from its original french and italian roots, some from the different middle-eastern and african people present in the boats (eastern catholics and orthodox ethiopian traders), some aspects of roman culture as it was described in the historical books brought all the way from europe, some cultural elements of the mythical places visited during the Odyssey, and finally some elements that were developed while adapting to Phaedros. Map of The Hospital